Friday, April 19, 2019

The Redacted Investigation

I keep going back to this story. Why not pursue?

It'd be like that Skripal case, where the accused GRU agents, posing as tourists to Salisbury (as if there were anything there) smuggled nerve agent in a sealed perfume bottle, latter discovered by hapless dumpster divers. 

Brits saw through their cover story immediately, having grown up on John le CarrĂ© spy novels and knowing a "likely story" when they see one. 

Put all these GRU guys, who supposedly jumped to their feet when Trump said "get those emails" (Hillary's missing), on CNN (like they did for Osama). 

They'd have to send a team to Russia and true, you're not in jail in America where the cowards threaten you even before trial. I don't want sleaze balls getting involved.

The reaction when Putin made this offer was "no fair, the president trusts Putin more than us". In light of what the president considered a "witch hunt" this was in no way surprising.

Still, it seems the Mueller investigation had nothing to lose by at least gathering more evidence. The GRU guys would be confronted with the same forensic evidence that convinced the grand jury. 


We could all learn a ton about the technology used to leave or remove fingerprints, as when trying to conceal one's own moves and/or frame others.

The public has proved that it has an appetite for this kind of stuff. Trump saw a way forward with potentially high TV ratings. Is it really too late?

I guess the FBI (special prosecutor) closed the investigation without ever caring to actually interview the indicted foreign nationals. They wanted to extradite first, get the alleged criminals into custody, where they could be put in solitary and otherwise mistreated (ala Chelsea Manning).

Obviously the Russians were not about to turn over their own military officers to a foreign power on flimsy charges, before ever seeing a shred of forensic evidence. 


Dismissing Putin's offer out of hand, after the US president said he thought it worth pursuing, proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the president has very limited power.